( wouldnt it be nice to live together, in the kind of world where we belong )

chapter eighteen !

VINCENT COULDN'T SHAKE THE FEELING THAT SOMETHING WAS WRONG. The feeling from earlier had only grown more intense, burning all through his body along with the pain from utilizing his power earlier in the day. His head hurt, pounded with worry and unease and his fingertips were numb again, similar to something he'd felt a while before. 

He could tell Five knew he was off. The way Five looked at him with an expression of concern and the way he'd step closer to Vincent when he got just slightly paler than usual. Five had never really been concerned for Vincent before, though that day he did; consistently asking if he was okay.

Vincent didn't know if he liked or hated the change.

Five was different towards him, that was for sure. The change was slight, little and barely noticeable. From an outside perspective it may have looked the same all along, two touchy physically teenage boys who were much too protective of one another. And sure, it had always been that way, but lately the tone of the predicament altered.

Instead of just being protective, Five had become worried along the way. Perhaps it had to do with how tired he was at that point, or perhaps it had to do with how much mayhem Vincent had been getting involved in. But Five rarely outwardly stated he was worried. And he hadn't yet, the day he did would be a momentous occasion; but he had given Vincent way too many concerned looks that day, to the point where he lost count.

Maybe Vincent had his suspicions regarding the way he felt about Fives new attitude towards him because of the very fact that Vincent was hopelessly infatuated with Five Hargreeves. His adoration for the boy made the idea of Five worrying about him all the more terrifying. 

The way Five would move closer to him, place a hand on his shoulder and ask in a way too gentle voice if he was okay; that was what made Vincent uneasy. He wasn't okay because he was breaking the fuck down, but he wouldn't just say that. He didn't want to know what would happen if Five was given a real confirmed reason to worry for him.

Maybe it was selfish to be so worried about someone actually caring about him, but it had always been something that didn't sit well with Vincent. He had never been properly cared for before and the image of getting that was not comforting as it may seem like it should have been. Being coddled and loved was an admittedly terrifying prospect to Vincent.

Love. Love was a stupid word. Five would never love him. No one quite had. He couldn't recall ever hearing the words directed towards him before. His parents surely didn't utter it, and his friends had only kept him around as a means for entertainment. The word was rare to him, foreign even.

Vincent didn't need Five to care about him, or love him or whatever bullshit Five had begun to do. Vincent wanted Five to treat him the way he always had. With a sarcasm that was almost harsh, rather than the gentle voice he often took on around Vincent now. He found that he missed the Five who almost seemed as if he held a hatred for Vincent. 

Perhaps that was merely because it was what he was used to; used to the words Five would mutter that would most definitely be seen as rude by any other person that didn't think as Vincent Leblanc did. Vincent, for some fucked up reason, had always found the behavior endearing. 

Despite the awkwardness between the two due to the happenings of the day, the pair had cleaned up the greenhouse easily, Five doing most of the work. He was better at it than Vincent was, teleporting around the room without a care in the world and taking the glass somewhere that he did not disclose. Vincent attempted to be of help, but he had never been so good at such a thing. 

Vincent's newfound power was surprising to the both of them. Vincent knew it was there somewhere, deep down, though he hadn't actually put it to use in years. And even then, it had merely been a fluke. For all he'd known, it could have been the actions of another like him in the area.

But now he knew it was not. It had been him all along, his hand and his mind that had done those things.

The embarrassing part? This time around, it had only occurred because of Vincent's indisputable nerves around Five. The clammy hands, the blush that overtook his face and the quick beating of his heart.

And fuck feelings. Vincent fucking hated that overrated bullcrap. Feelings had always sucked. But now that Vincent was losing hold of himself faster and faster, his feelings were growing and the control of them was slipping. That, maybe more than anything, terrified Vincent. The idea of a slip up, a word or two to Five that would earn him a look of concern or even a look of disgust. He didn't know which was worse in his eyes.

Vincent felt scared more than anything these days. The feeling of worry, of being fucked up over little things all the time was horrible. So fucking atrocious.

"Vincent."

Vincent jumped, jumped so hard he tugged on his hair hard enough to pull out a few strands, wincing at the pain but rubbing his palm over his knee. He looked up at Five, only now realizing he'd been gripping his hair for the past few minutes. He really was losing it.

"What the fuck is happening to you?" Five asked. Vincent hated the gentle voice he was using. As if he wasn't still pissed off at Vincent for leaving him, as if he didn't want him gone. Maybe Five hadn't been protecting him all along, but just thought of Vincent as a liability that would ruin everything if he went out and got himself murdered one of these days.

Vincent probably would have. Would have opened his big fucking mouth and said too much, earned himself a knife wound or a gunshot to the forehead in turn. Maybe that would have fucked up the timeline. Or maybe his death would have made it smoother. Who knew?

Vincent lightly shoved Five away from him, hands on the boys chest and shaking his head as he stood up from the dingy couch. He didn't feel particularly bad at the moment, but his thoughts made him anxious. He was losing himself, slow. Gripping his hair more, pulling out chunks and thinking so goddamn much about his past, the past he'd tried to block out for so long. "I'm great, Fivey. Told you already," Vincent grinned restlessly.

Five stood up slowly, watching Vincent. "You don't have to lie about every goddamn thing, Vincent. You act like I don't know you," He mumbled, and Vincent could have laughed. Five didn't know him quite like he thought he did. He'd never really tried to. So why the fuck was he trying to now? It was too much for Vincent, too much to add onto his already hyperactive thoughts.

Vincent shrugged, chuckling. "Who says I was lying? Is there something I'm doing that makes it seem like I'm not okay?" He asked, eyebrow raising in curiousity. He gasped overdramatically when Five nodded his head. "Now who's the one lying, Fivey? I'm being normal. Entirely and completely, my dear."

"Your hair looks like shit. You look tired as hell. And you won't stop playing with your fingers. You're anxious about something," Five explained, eyeing Vincent, who shifted uncomfortably at his gaze. Fuck. Vincent had forgotten how good Five was at reading people.

He chuckled nervously, looking at the ground for a moment. "Just anxious about my new ability or whatever. I don't really know how to use it," He attempted to execute his excuse well. Five didn't look so convinced. "Listen, Hargreeves, if anyone looks tired, it's you. I should be knocking you out so you'll get some damn sleep. I don't give a fuck about the end of the world."

Vincent was surprised when Five chuckled, shrugging. "After this all ends? Maybe I'll get some sleep. You can knock me out or whatever." He spoke, back to the gentle tone. Vincent loved it, but also found himself disliking it at the exact same time.

"You're implying that I'm gonna stick by your side even if the world doesn't end. Who says, hot shot? You're not that special," Vincent joked with a laugh, turning to face Five. Five was special. So goddamn special to Vincent that it pained him. "Eh. If we actually make it, maybe I'll buy you a drink sometime."

"By buying it, you mean steal it, don't you?" Five chuckled.

"Oh, always. I've never had a dime, babe," Vincent grinned wide, all teeth and gums peeking out from his pure amusement. Five made Vincent stupidly nervous, but he also managed to calm him down unbelievably quickly.

"Just- if you're not okay, tell me. I'm not good at comforting people or whatever- surely not you- but I can try," Five explained, way too softly. Vincent turned away from Five, clearing his throat awkwardly as he nodded.

"Yeah, yeah.." Vincent trailed off. Perhaps he should tell Five what's wrong. But then again, it would only add to the boys list of problems. The poor boy wouldn't be able to handle it all. "Let's go meet those assassin bitches, yeah?"

"Sure," Five spoke, walking in front of Vincent and opening the door, walking out with Vincent following close behind. "We have to get Dolores and then do a few things."

Vincent groaned, head falling back in annoyance as he stopped walking, Five stopping as well when he realized Vincent had. "That fucking plastic motherfucker? What's she gonna do that's gonna help us?"

"Could say the same about you. What are you gonna do to stop Hazel and Cha-Cha?" Five asked, crossing his arms over his chest. "You and her are the same," Vincent watched Five shift his weight to his other foot.

"Do not compare me to a mannequin! I've got, like, a real body if you're into those," Vincent joked with a chuckle. "And my mouth isn't plastic or closed shut. Perfect width."

Five rolled his eyes, "You're fucking gross. I can't just leave her at my house."

"Oh yes, how could I forget that you are waiting to make out with her after it all?" Vincent smiled jokingly, laughing at the way Fives face turned red.

"I've never even kissed her!" Five huffed out.

Vincent laughed. "Didn't you admit to me a few days ago that you've never kissed anyone? That change?" He grinned, rather fake in truth. Five had kissed Vincent. He'd pressed his lips against his and started the process of Vincent losing his fucking mind.

Five visibly swallowed hard, taking a deep breath as he looked at the ground, averting his weight to his other foot as he chuckled dryly and mumbled out a small, "No. Hasn't changed."

Vincent's smile twitched and he knew Five saw it from the way he sighed heavily. Vincent made a stupid decision and walked closer. "Well, don't worry about it. Kisses aren't all that important. People forget them sometimes, even," He chuckled, knowing he was being passive aggressive. Though if Five didn't even remember, why would it bother him? Fives jaw twitched, clenching lightly, just barely.

Five shrugged. "I probably wouldn't." He mumbled simply, looking at Vincent.

Vincent laughed a bit, nodding slowly. The irony. "Sure thing," He chuckled before leaning closer, kissing the corner of Five's lips. Sure, he immediately regretted it, but he played it cool; even when Fives eyes widened, and his face grew even redder. "There. Close enough that you're not a mouth virgin anymore." He shrugged, turning around so Five couldn't see his face anymore and mouthing a multitude of curse words to himself.

Five took a while to gain back his composure, but started walking again once he did, Vincent following. He didn't know why he'd done what he just did, but he knew he probably shouldn't have. Now things would be more awkward, with Vincent being the only one constantly remembering the drunken kiss.

Vincent caught up with Five, huffing when he stopped yet again and turned to Vincent, looking conflicted. The boy sighed, looking around before looking back down at Vincent. "Y'know, you're a fucking idiot." Ah. The Five that Vincent had grown to yearn over.

Vincent let out a laugh, eyebrows raising. "Geez, and here I thought you'd be professing your undying love for me. But no! You're abusing me instead," He joked dramatically, shaking his head.

Five didn't look so amused, huffing under his breath. "You are probably the dumbest person I've ever met in my life. Yet somehow, also the fucking smartest. And I don't understand it," he mumbled, clearly annoyed by the fact.

Vincent chuckled, shrugging. "I think I'm just dumb, babe. The smart part is really out of nowhere, I think," He grinned, beginning to walk again.

Five stopped Vincent, gripping the boys shoulder and pulling him back to look at him. "You are smart. You got my equation and figured out how to get out of that fucking place even without me. And as much as I fucking hate you for that, maybe I get it now. Maybe I get, even a little bit, that you were just saving yourself. And I would have done the same goddamn thing," He spoke, voice low. "But you're still an idiot for it and I'll still never forgive you." He added on.

Vincent didn't find himself minding the words much. It was understandable. He had never expected to be forgiven for his actions. Though it still felt off to hear it come out of Five's mouth, even after all the gentleness he'd shown Vincent throughout the day. "Why are you telling me this, exactly?"

"Because I can see that you don't like how gentle I'm being with you. Maybe you'll get why I'm doing that one day. And maybe you won't forgive me for it either," Five sighed, looking even more exhausted than he had before, somehow. "But it was only a temporary gentleness, I swear. I could never be nice to you for too long." He chuckled lightly.

"What do you mean I won't forgive you for it?" Vincent questioned with a raised eyebrow. He was worried, worried by the way Five looked so done with everything; worried by the words he'd uttered; and worried by just how much Vincent was worrying.

Five smiled tiredly, shrugged it off. "Nothing," He mumbled gently, looking at the ground for a moment before back up at Vincent. "Just...... I don't forget that easy." He said before turning away.

Vincent was confused by the words, furrowing his eyebrows. "Okay...? What am I supposed to do with this information?"

Five chuckled, shaking his head. "Put two and two together, moron," He spoke, rolling his eyes before he held his hand out to Vincent, covered in dirt and covered with small cuts and dried blood from the glass they'd cleaned up.

Vincent's confusion only grew. "What the hell are you doing?" He asked, staring at Five's outstretched hand.

Five rolled his eyes yet again as he turned to Vincent. "Hold my fucking hand," He deadpanned.

"Uh..... little forward, dontcha' think?" Vincent chuckled, jumping in surprise when Five reached out and grabbed Vincent's hand in his. Though before he could speak, Vincent saw nothing but a poof of blue and then the inside of the Hargreeves home.

"See, dumbass? Just listen to me next time," Five huffed, yanking Vincent over to his room. They were still holding hands, intertwined and gripped tight; and Vincent's face was surely extremely red. He watched as Five grabbed Dolores, placing her aside. "I have to figure something out." He mumbled gently, standing up on his bed and grabbing a piece of chalk, writing on the ceiling beside tons of other scribbles.

Vincent chuckled, sitting down and watching with a raised eyebrow. He was rather amused by the sight, but also confused. Though, he didnt question it. "Whatever you say, Fivey."

It was silent for a few minutes, with Five writing away before he finally spoke up. "Okay... I think I've finally got something, Dolores." He spoke up, and Vincent could have rolled his eyes. "It's tenuous, but promising."

Luther walked in a moment later, making Vincent jump just barely, rolling his eyes when he saw Luther. "What is all this?" He asked, eyes landing on Vincent for a moment before back at Five.

"It's a probability map," Five snapped back, looking at some writing on the wall.

"Probability of what?" Luther asked with furrowed eyebrows.

Five huffed, turning towards Luther. "Of who's death could save the world." He pointed at something on the ceiling. "Narrowed it down to four."

"So what you're saying is four people cause the apocalypse?" Luther asked dumbly. Vincent laughed, grinning when Luther glared at him. The guy was thick-skulled, Vincent couldn't help it.

"No! I'm saying that their death may prevent it." Five sighed heavily.

"I'm not following..." Luther spoke after a few seconds.

"Holy fuck! You're so goddamn dense," Vincent groaned out, standing up and walking over. "It's not that hard to understand."

Five chuckled gently at Vincent, but still faced Luther. "Time is fickle, Luther. The slightest alteration in events can lead to massively different outcomes in the time continuum. The butterfly effect. So all I have to do is find people with the greatest probability of impacting the time line, wherever they may be, and kill them." He explained, much more complicated than Vincent would have explained it.

Luther still looked confused, walking over to where the writing was. "Milton Greene? So who's he, a terrorist or something?"

Five grabbed a notebook, jotting words down in it. "I believe he is a gardener." Vincent chuckled at that, shaking his head at Luther's bewildered expression.

"You can't be serious. Wait, this is madness, Five." Luther pointed at the writing. "You can't- woah, where'd you get that?" He asked, watching as Five pulled out a gun, rather large in size.

Vincent laughed a bit, but was also a bit surprised. "Seriously, where did you get that? That shits sick."

"Dads room," Five grinned a bit. "I think he used it to shoot a rhinoceros. It's similar to the model we used at work," He mumbled, cocking the gun. "Nice shoulder fit and highly reliable."

"But you can't just- this guy Milton is just an innocent man!" Luther protested.

"It's basic math! His death could potentially save the lives of billions," Five huffed out, shaking his head. "He'd be dead in four days, anyway. The apocalypse won't spare anyone."

"We don't do this kind of thing," Luther spoke, exasperated, but not as much as Five clearly was.

"We are not doing anything. Vincent and I are," Five huffed, looking over at Vincent for a moment.

"I can't let you go kill innocent people, Five. No matter how many lives you'll save." Luther spoke, sighing.

"Try and stop me," Five spoke before turning away, gesturing for Vincent to follow. Vincent stood up slowly, but was pulled back by his collar by Luther at the same time he grabbed Dolores.

"You're not going anywhere." Luther spoke, gripping Vincent's collar and pushing the boys head basically out the window, Dolores right above him.

Vincent let out a breathless laugh, hands moving to grip Luther's wrist. "Shit- holy shit- this is..... this is an interesting feeling." He rambled nervously.

Five almost immediately pointed the gun at Luther, eyes wide. "Put them down." He spoke, clearly pissed off.

"Put the gun down. You're not killing anyone today," Luther spoke, shaking his head. "I know she and this kid are important to you, but don't make me do this."

"Dude, you're literally about to kill me and you're talking about not killing anyone. Seems like a double negative. Hypoc- holy fuck- holy shit." He cursed as Luther pushed him even further back, gripping Luther's wrist tighter.

"It's either them or the gun," Luther spoke. "I won't kill the kid obviously, but I can keep him suspended out the window for a few hours. You decide."

Fives hands slightly shook as he barely moved at all, but teleported over when Luther let go of both Dolores and Vincent. Vincent let out a curse, but was caught by the collar by Five, his other hand grabbing Dolores. Vincent stood upright slowly as Five let go of him, moving close and eyeing his face and neck to assure he was okay.

Vincent could have rolled his eyes, but he didn't have much of a problem with it.

Luther stood on the other side of the room, gun in hand and an annoying smile on his lips. "I could do this all day."

Five let out a shaky sigh, putting Dolores aside and pulling Vincent by the arm down to sit beside him, still checking for any signs of injury. Vincent didn't know why he would have any injuries, Luther hadn't hurt him. Luther wouldn't have killed him either, he knew this. But he still didn't tell Five not to worry. It was somewhat amusing to see Five so shaken up over it.

Luther stepped closer, sighing. "I know you're still a good person, Five. Otherwise, you wouldn't have risked everything coming back here to save us all. But you're not on your own anymore."

Five sighed, hands moving to Vincent's cheeks, tilting his head one way and then the other before letting go once satisfied with the fact that Vincent was fine. "There is one way." He mumbled. "But it's just about impossible."

"Just as impossible as what got you here?" Luther questioned with a raised eyebrow, looking between Vincent and Five. "Tell me downstairs." He spoke, eyeing the two suspiciously before walking out of the room.

Five almost immediately furrowed his eyebrows. "Are you okay?" He questioned, gentle again.

Vincent couldn't help but laugh. "What was that earlier about how you being gentle with me was temporary?" He grinned.

"Shut the fuck up. I'm making sure you're alright," Five huffed. "He wouldn't have done anything to you but he's still a big fucking baby and I'm gonna beat his ass."

"Chill, Five. I wasn't even scared," Vincent lied with a wide grin. He definetly had been at least nervous. His body was held halfway out a window, how could he have not been? "Stop being a sappy caring bastard and go back to being a just bastard. I've got a thing for mean guys. So if you want my boner to elevate just for you, you have to be an asshole."

Five scrunched his face up in disgust, standing up and grabbing Dolores. "You're fucking terrible. Why I tolerate or even like you is beyond me." He chuckled, walking out the door.

Vincent laughed as he stood up, following. "At least you admit you like me! We're getting somewhere!" He grinned wide, saying the words rather loudly.

Vincent knew they likely weren't really getting anywhere.

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A/N: it's been ages I'm so sorry! this chapter is extra long just for how long it took to get out lmao. 3925 words.

also I dont like luther as u can probably tell from my writing, but he wasn't gonna throw Vincent out the window lmao he would be too pussy.

also I'm pretty sure I used the word "fuck" at least 50 times in this chapter and I didnt even realize until right now. lmao I'm sorry I Love that word and I also love You😎